Seward County’s first wind turbine is being constructed west of Seward. The turbine will provide 1.7 megawatts of power to the city of Seward.
Construction for the county’s first wind turbine has begun.
The turbine will provide power to the City of Seward.
City Administrator Greg Butcher said the turbine, including cables connecting the turbine to the city, is expected to be complete and running by the end of the year.
The turbine, located near 350th Road and Highway 34, on land owned by Kevin and Angela Medow, is being built by Bluestem Energy of Omaha.
Bluestem is the owner and operator of the turbine and is paying for its construction.
The City of Seward signed a power purchase agreement on May 17, 2016.
The turbine will provide 1.7 megawatts of power to the city, which is less than the 10 percent of allowed use of renewable energy through the city’s contract with the Nebraska Public Power District.
The power purchase agreement is a 25-year contract, during which the power price will stay the same for the first three years.
After that, there will be a three percent price increase each year over the remainder of the contract.
Butcher said that the power purchase cost is confidential from the public because it is a trade secret for Bluestem that allows them to stay competitive in the market.
However, Butcher said he can say the city will purchase power from Bluestem at a lower rate than it currently purchases power from Nebraska Public Power District.
Another benefit, he said, is that the city knows what it will pay for power from Bluestem for the next 25 years.
